


Cynophobia

by freelancestargazing



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dogs, First Meetings, M/M, Meet-Cute, fear of dogs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24875131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/freelancestargazing/pseuds/freelancestargazing
Summary: The boy had his arms crossed over his chest tightly, his expression torn between panic and anger, looking ready to bolt again. If Merlin’s mum had been there, she’d have smacked him upside the head for taunting someone who was clearly afraid of dogs, and Merlin knew he would deserve it.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 18
Kudos: 126





	Cynophobia

**Author's Note:**

> Contains the briefest mention of bullying/homophobia. It’s not a big thing, but I thought I’d put in a warning anyway.

The sky was slightly overcast, there was a cool breeze drifting through the trees, and the streets were practically empty since it was four in the evening on a Wednesday. It seemed the perfect time to walk a dog, and Merlin absolutely would be walking his dog, watching Aithusa bounce from bush to tree to electricity pole, if not for the boy standing in his way. 

Merlin recognised him from school, though he didn’t know his name. He was one of the posh kids, with some fancy surname in a fancy house, the kind of kid that wouldn’t normally give Merlin the time of day. Exactly why he was standing in front of Merlin and Aithusa now, leaving no room on the pavement for them to walk around, Merlin had no idea. The boy’s hands were trembling slightly as he watched Aithusa sniff delightedly at a dirt patch, his feet were braced like he was ready to run, and Merlin thought he knew what was going on. 

“Are you alright?” He called to the boy, whose eyes darted up to Merlin’s face with a scowl before dropping back to Aithusa when she moved to sniff a tree. He took a step back, face almost comically alarmed, and Merlin knew it would be terrible of him to laugh, so he didn’t. “She won’t bite,” he tried again, “I’ll keep a hold of her.” 

The boy scoffed, a haughty snort that made Merlin tense automatically. “I don’t believe your twig arms would be strong enough.” 

Oh, so he wanted to be a prat about it then? Merlin let his grip on the leash loosen just a bit, and Aithusa bounded forward with her new freedom, almost diving into the bush beside the boy and sending him scrambling back. The look on the boy’s face made Merlin feel instantly guilty, and he pulled on the leash with enough force to bring Aithusa back to his side. She looked up at him with a goofy expression, tongue lolling out as she nudged his knee gently. He scratched behind her floppy ears in apology, before looking back over at the boy. 

He had his arms crossed over his chest tightly, his expression torn between panic and anger, looking ready to bolt again. If Merlin’s mum had been there, she’d have smacked him upside the head for taunting someone who was clearly afraid of dogs, and Merlin knew he would deserve it. 

“I’m sorry,” he said, taking a step back and pulling Aithusa with him, “I’m really sorry we scared you. We’ll just go the other way.” 

“No!” The boy shouted before Merlin could take another step. “No, no, I promised myself…” He was muttering under his breath as he stalked forwards to Merlin and Aithusa, looking for all the world like he was going to murder them both. Merlin tugged on the leash instinctively, bringing Aithusa right to his side again, and the boy stopped when she looked over at him. He bit his lip, ran his fingers through messy blonde hair, and then said to the concrete, “I promised myself that I would get over this stupid phobia before the holidays are up, starting with you and your dog, because you look like you know what you’re doing.” 

“Oh,” Merlin said intelligently. He watched the boy dig his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, shoulders up to his ears defensively, and decided to give it a shot. Aithusa was watching the boy curiously, still panting, her tail wagging slightly in anticipation. Keeping his grip on the leash tight, Merlin nudged her forward slightly, and she padded up to the boy and sniffed at his knees. The boy stiffened visibly, clearly wanting to run as Aithusa circled him as much as the leash would allow, sniffing up and down his legs and all over his sneakers. Merlin tugged her back when the leash strained, and she went willingly, but not without a final sniff at the boy’s ankles. 

The boy relaxed when she was back at Merlin’s side, shoulders dropping back down and slouching to the side ever so slightly. It looked performed, practised, and Merlin wondered what made him think that. 

“I do know what I’m doing,” he offered, “since I’ve had Aithusa since I was thirteen. Also, my dad’s a vet, and my mum runs an animal shelter.” 

“She seems nice,” the boy said, gruff and a little uncertain. 

Merlin couldn’t help his laugh, even though it made the boy scowl. “She’s a big sook, likes to hide beneath my desk when Kilgharrah and the neighbours get into barking matches.” 

“Kilgharrah?” 

“My other dog. Well, he’s not my dog, he’s the family dog, and technically Aithusa is too, but she was my birthday present. Kilgharrah is a big German Shepherd, and a grumpy one. Not good for your first meeting with a dog.” 

“And what’s she?” The boy cocked his head in Aithusa’s direction, looking more naturally relaxed now that she was back to sniffing the bushes away from him. 

“Golden Retriever,” Merlin said, tugging the leash to bring her back to him. She resisted a moment, but padded back when he whistled sharply, shoving her head into his waiting hand. He looked back up at the boy, who was watching the scene with fascination and fear both. “Would you like to pat her?” Merlin asked. 

The boy swallowed, tensing again before giving a tight nod. He shuffled to where Merlin stood and crouched when Merlin crouched, bring his still-trembling hand up and placing it lightly against Aithusa’s neck. She leaned into the contact, trying to reach the hands of them both, and Merlin laughed as she tried to wind herself in between them. 

They were crouching rather close together, when Merlin thought about it. The boy’s denim-clad knees were pressed against Merlin’s own, their heads almost touching and hands not quite brushing. The boy was… not unattractive, Merlin thought, with his golden hair and ocean eyes, but the chances of him being other than straight were fairly low, and even if he was, why would he be interested in dorky lower-class Merlin? 

_But_ , a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Gwen whispered, _he did approach you. He could’ve gone to a shelter, or a pet store, rather than approach a stranger on the street._

_Stop being encouraging_ , Merlin hissed at his inner-Gwen. But he had to admit, she had a point. Maybe he could just get to know the guy? What do you say to someone when they’ve approached you out of nowhere to confront their fear of dogs? 

“I’m Merlin,” he settled on, watching the boy brush Aithusa’s fur gently. 

“Arthur,” the boy replied, glancing up and giving Merlin a smile that could almost be called shy, if Merlin ever thought that shyness could be associated with Arthur. He didn’t seem quite so tense anymore, however, stroking Aithusa with less of his earlier fear. It was by no means cured, obviously, Merlin knew that, but he was glad to have helped a little. 

“Can I ask…” Merlin drifted off, unsure where to start. All of his friends he made through Will or Gwen, and none of them were posh kids who casually approached him out of nowhere. At Arthur’s frown, he went with “what did you mean when you said it looked like I knew what I was doing with Aithusa?” 

Inexplicably, Arthur blushed, looking very intently at the tag on Aithusa’s collar and avoiding Merlin’s eyes. “Well, I live in the area, and I walk up this street pretty often because a friend of mine lives up this way, and I almost always see you walking down here with the dog, but because of… well, you know, I always cross the road, so you probably never noticed me, but whenever I saw you, you just seemed able to control her and I figured that it’d be a safe bet. I was lying about the twig arms, by the way.” 

Merlin blinked. “You watch me walk my dog?” 

“What? No!” Arthur’s blush darkened, his shoulders rising defensively again. “I was just… I wanted to…” 

Once again, Merlin got that feeling, like he knew exactly what Arthur was thinking. But in a scenario such as this, gut instinct wouldn’t be enough. Arthur didn’t _seem_ the type to punch a guy for threatening his masculinity, but Merlin knew appearances could be deceiving (not that he ever had been punched for something like that, he was fairly careful about that sort of thing (and Will existed), but he’d heard of incidents like that at school, and did not fancy being one himself). 

“Get over your fear of dogs?” Merlin said gently. An offering, he supposed, that Arthur need not push himself. He wondered it Arthur noticed. 

Arthur started to nod, looking back up at Merlin, but something made him stop. He took a deep breath and shook his head determinedly. “Not just that. I wanted to ask you out on a date. Romantically.” 

“Oh,” Merlin said, because he honestly hadn’t expected Arthur to go for it, but he also knew that was the worst possible response he could give. Arthur’s expression seemed to splinter, his mouth twisting into another scowl, and Merlin hurriedly added, “There’s a cafe a block over that sells dog treats, since they’re across from the park and all, lots of dog walkers through there, and I wasn’t going to go there today but it’s actually a really nice day so I think I might. Go there, that is, to the cafe.” _Bloody hell, Emrys, you need to work on your conversational skills._

For a moment, Arthur just stared at Merlin, not quite scowling anymore but also looking very confused, before he grinned brightly. “Okay,” he said, “I guess I’ll come with.” He stood up, stretching his arms above his head before offering a hand to Merlin. He pulled Merlin up with no small amount of strength, leaving Merlin to stumble and almost face plant on top of Aithusa. Merlin was ready to shove Arthur into the road in retaliation, but when he saw Arthur, head thrown back in a giddy laugh, he decided (rather magnanimously, he thought) not to ruin the moment. 

Arthur held Merlin’s left hand, Aithusa’s leash twisted around his right, Aithusa herself bounding ahead of them to investigate more bushes, and with the sun beginning to set behind them, Merlin was pleased to realise he’d been right—it really had been the perfect time to walk his dog. 

**Author's Note:**

> a) Aithusa is a golden retriever in honour of my own pup, Honey  
> b) Kilgharrah is a German shepherd in honour of my childhood dog, Bell  
> c) I promise, I have never and will never taunt someone who has a fear of dogs, and I don't really think Merlin would either, but we all know Arthur can bring out the worst in him. 
> 
> Hi! Thank you for reading my second ever published fanfic! I felt inspired when walking my dog, and sat down to write as soon as I got home (unfortunately, I didn't meet any cute individuals while on my walk, but Honey got to chase a bird, so it wasn't all bad). 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think? (Or don't, no pressure.)


End file.
